Why Is Flea Prevention Important?

When your dog or cat has fleas, your home is soon to follow. Far from a minor irritation, fleas can wreak havoc on your pet’s life and pose a serious threat to his health. Fleas work around the clock to seek a host, and then they feast on enough of the host’s blood to equal up to 15 times their own body weight every day. Because of the challenges caused by fleas, prevention is always your best protection.

TREATMENT CHALLENGES

Once fleas establish residence in your home, they have no trouble firmly entrenching themselves. With suitable environmental conditions— warm temperatures, enough humidity, and at least one nourishing host—they can complete their life cycle in as little as 18 days. Female fleas can lay 20 to 50 eggs every day (which means up to several hundred or more over the course of their lives), so your small infestation can grow much larger within weeks.

Because flea eggs are deposited on your pet, they can fall off and land wherever your pet spends time. So, flea larvae may develop anywhere your pet wanders: in your carpeting, rugs, furniture, even cracks in the floor, making it a challenge to treat the premises thoroughly enough. Moreover, flea pupae can be difficult to kill inside their cocoons, so even with proper treatment, it can take weeks to successfully eliminate an infestation.

PREVENTION IS KEY

Anyone who has ever dealt with these troublemakers never wants to contend with them again. If you’d rather not fight the flea battle, get proactive and help prevent them from ever setting up residence on your pet in the first place. Simply give your dog or cat a monthly topical flea preventive, such as Zodiac® Spot On® Flea & Tick Control, to protect him from a flea infestation.